Benefits of Stretching

Unlike athletes firefighters and other first responders don't know when "game time" will be. It could be at 7am or it could be at 11pm but in any case we need to ensure we are at our best when the alarm goes off. As we know, we cannot predict when runs will come in and when they won't but preparation of our bodies before and during shift is just as equally as important as preparing our gear, tools and apparatus. Further, being able to wind down after runs is just as important as preparing for the shift and the potential call volume. This will help prepare the mind and body for work.

So where am I going with this?

I'm going with a focus on stretching. That's right. Stretching.

Stretching, even a short routine, added to your daily routine is a great benefit for overall health and wellness and pays off large dividends. It could be used as a pre-workout or a post-workout routine or both. Stretching can help unwind and release tension after a hectic day or even a long duration run as well as assist in increasing energy levels.

Here are some health benefits to stretching that help can keep you on the path for a long shift in the firehouse and overall better health.

1. Improves flexibility and agility which is important for all firefighters
2. Helps keep a decreased resting heart rate. A health heart is vital for all firefighters
3. Increases the circulation of blood and oxygen to the muscles
4. Helps remove waste from tissues such as lactic acid which is built up during intense exercise. Sometimes causing painful, sore muscles.
5. Helps prevent injuries
6. Increases overall mood and well-being.

Stretching at its best could be used a form of exercise for the body and mind. Keep in mind to only stretch as far as your current level of flexibility and over time the range of motion will gradually increase.

6 Stretches to do everyday to help improve flexibility, blood circulating, oxygen levels, relieve stress and tension. Do all 6, three times for 15-30 seconds each.

  1. Quadricep stretch

  2. Hamstring stretch

  3. Calf raise

  4. Spinal twist

  5. Kneeling hip-flexor

  6. Chest opener

Always remember, before beginning any type of exercise program to consult with your primary physician first.

Side note: As per the 2018 NFPA Journal on firefighter injuries, there was an estimated 58K plus injuries estimated in 2018 and also the lowest since the NFPA has been analyzing this data in 1981. In this report it was noted that the major type of injury during fire ground operations were strains and sprains, which accounted for 38% of all injuries while it accounted for 59% of all non-fire ground injuries.

Until next time; work hard, stay safe & live inspired.


Re-Present Yourself to Represent Your Department

From the time we enter the academy to the time we are sworn in as firefighters, we are training to become a better version of ourselves. Even after we graduate and begin our time as a firefighter we are still training each and every day to improve ourselves to become a better version of ourselves but what about the department and community we serve? They say the name on the helmet represents the department and the name on the jacket represents who raised you. Well, what if the name on the helmet and the name on the jacket are not only being represented by you but your “re-presenting” those names through you? 

Think about that for a minute. The 2 names on your uniform are being “re-presenting” through you. The town, the communities and other agencies know the department on the helmet and may quiet possibly know the name on the jacket but it’s how the names are carried and “re-presented” that makes the difference. It’s easy to put the uniform on and go to work but it’s another thing to put the uniform on and go to work with humility, honor and respect. Ask yourself these questions when you’re “re-presenting” the names because this is how you are “re-presenting” your department and your name to others.

1. Am I respectful to my boss and my crew?

2. Am I humble?

3. Do I respect the job?

4. How do I want these names to be “re-presented” to my fellow firefighters and the community?

5. Am I training hard each and every day to improve myself mentality and physically?

6. Would I be able to lead myself?

Being a firefighter and wearing the uniform isn’t a right, it’s a privilege. A privilege many people wish they had and a privilege that can be taken away at any moment. Be conscious of how you act and speak when wearing any part of that uniform on and off duty, it’s showing how you present yourself and also how you are “re-presenting” the names on that uniform. So do a service to your department, the community you sworn to protect, your fellow firefighters who ride alongside you, your family and most importantly yourself and “re-present” them the way you would want someone to “re-present” you. 

Until next time; work hard, stay safe & live inspired.

About the Author

NICHOLAS J. HIGGINS is a firefighter with 17 years in the fire service in Piscataway, NJ, a NJ State certified level 2 fire instructor, a State of New Jersey Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation and is the founder/contributor of the Firehouse Tribune website. A martial arts practitioner and former collegiate athlete in baseball, Nick is also a National Exercise & Sports Trainer Association Battle Ropes Instructor, Functional Fitness Instructor and Nutrition Coach.  He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Kean University, and a A.A.S in Liberal Arts - Business from Middlesex County College. Nick has spoken at the 2017 & 2018 Firehouse Expo in Nashville, TN as well as at numerous fire departments within NJ and fire service podcasts.

 

What Are You Telling People?

I say “Good afternoon!How are you doing?” I am stopping to getodds and ends at a supermarket. It is atypical day during the summer here in Maryland;so being inside provides a bit of relief from the heat and humidity. The cashier is who I give this standard greeting. He is tall, lanky, and young. My guess is that this is probably his Summer job. Admittedly, I ask the question about his day out of rote practice. I just heard the conversationbetween the cashier and the person before me. I already know his answer. His response?“Oh, I can't complain.” That’s not the answer he gave the other guy.

In speaking with the person just before me, this is the response I hear him say: “Man it’s hot in here. It feels good at first, but then, it’s hot again.” Now, this is a supermarket, not a court of law. I will not prosecute him for telling me one thingand another person something else. And given that he and the other person are wearing the same uniform shirt, it makes sense. He is more comfortable with a known, coworker than anunknown, customer. We all have things that bother us. We are just not up front about telling everyone about them. And that’s fine, until you aren’t fine.

Everyone has problems.Whether or not someone will talk about them is another story. Over the last few months,firefighters in nearby jurisdictions have taken their own lives.An article from CNN article last year* states “Last year (in 2017), 103 firefighters and 140 police officers committed suicide, whereas 93 firefighters and 129 officers died in the line of duty, which includes everything from being fatally shot, stabbed, drowning or dying in a car accident while on the job.” In a discussion I had shortly after that, a question was posed to me; if I had a problem, who would I tell? Who would I tell what I felt, versus what the pre-canned answer of “Oh, I can’t complain.”

There are many people better qualified than I to speak on mental health. What I give you then, is not vast knowledge, but perspective. One that focuses on just on aspect of the problem of mental health in the fire service. Many people wouldn’t know who to tell their problems to if their life depended on it. If you had a problem, who would you tell?Not just any problem, but the kind of problem that would make you question being alive. How much trust you have in another person is proportional with how much would you revel to him or her. Who do you trust enough to tell that kind of problem?

I don’t feel like fire service culture makes it easy to talk about weakness, mistakes, and problems people tend to face. In order to have a conversation on that level, there has to be a sense of closeness between 2 people. A sense of trust.Listening to the comments of the young cashier and the guy he was talking to, they are obviously closer to each other than to me. They know each other. They have history. I'm just some dude picking up some odds and ends. No need to trust me with a problem statement.

As leaders, I ask we all take a look at what we are doing to make it easy for people to talk about problems. To find the common places and build bridges of trust and safety. Part of leadership is figuring out what that is for each individual. That's a pretty tall order. I've had a fewsuccesses and many more failures throughout my entire career.I don't know that I have a set answer. I will tell you what life has taught me so far. Keep saying “Good morning! How are you doing?” If I go back to that same store on a regular basis and interact that same cashier, eventually, we will get to know each other better. Eventually, we will talk about more things. Eventually, he’ll let me know when the heat is getting to him. Eventually, he’ll trust me enough to tell me what he really feels. Relationships are a lot like planting fruit trees. It takes a while to nurture the progress, but in the end, the fruit that is produced is worth it. As a leader, make trust your everyday order of business. Make trust ordinary, and you will see extraordinary impact.   

*From <https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/11/officers-firefighters-suicides-study/503735002/>

 About the Author

 NICK BASKERVILLE Nick has had the honor of serving in the United States Air Force for 10 years, followed by 4 years in the United States Air Force Reserves. He attained the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6). Nick also has 18 years of fire service time, with 15 years of that being in a career department in Northern Virginia. Nick has had the opportunity to hold positions in the Company Officer's section of the Virginia Fire Chief's Association (VFCA), The Virginia Fire Officer's Academy (VFOA) staff, and as one of the IABPFF representatives to the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance. Nick is one of the many trainers for Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) to offer awareness and prevention training about cancer in the fire service. Nick has the honor of being one of the many contributors for The Firehouse Tribune.

You Have Just One Job

 "This shouldn't take too long." I'm not talking to anyone;that's just the thought in my head as I get ready to clean the bathroom today. On the first floor of my house there is a half bath that is just after the front door, on the right side. It's just close enough to the door that if you pull in to the parking space, Dukes of Hazzard style, and busted through the front door to use the bathroom, you can make it without an 'accident' happening. The bathroom needs cleaning. I go to work using an assortment of cleaners; being careful not to cause a hazardous environment needing 911. Now, it's time to mop. That is also the time things go in a new direction. I go to the hallway closet a few feet away on the other side of the hallway. I see a mop handle sticking up, but there is all this stuff in the way. I start cleaning the closet to get to the mop to clean the bathroom. I now have two bags of things to throw out, brooms and other floor cleaning devices neatly arranged, but no mop. A wide area search (of a townhouse, mind you) leads to finding the mop in another bathroom upstairs. To recap, I have cleaned the closet, to find and clean the mop, so I can finish cleaning the bathroom. But while cleaning the mop, I notice there may be a leak coming from the sink I used. So, after cleaning the closet to get the mop, I found and cleaned the mop, then found the leak, then cleaned up the water from the leak to clean the, uh…what was I supposed to be doing again?

At that moment, I see myself in a place I have been before. Perhaps you have found yourself in that same place. I have one thing on my mind to do. In the process of working on that one thing, I accomplish 3 or 4 other things. Never what I set out to do in the first place. Once I realize the situation I am in, it was easy to tell I didn’t use my focus habit.What habit do I use to keep my focus? The yellow sticky note habit.

People who have worked with me have seen and made fun of my yellow sticky note habit. I admit, it's definitely a little odd. I can't remember how I got started using it, but I've done if for a while. I take two 3-inch yellow sticky notes and stick them together back to back so the sticky parts are at opposite ends. Now I have a 3-inch paper that I can write on both sides. On only one side of the note, I write the date and everything I want to try accomplish that day. The rest of the day, the list resides in my pocket. Periodically for the rest of the day, I look at my list and see what I have done, and what I still need to do. Whatever I don't finish, goes on the list for the next day.

Time has taught me that the size of that paper doesn't allow me to put more on it than I can finish in one day. I stay focused, keep track of my progress, and I can evaluate if what I'm doing is more important that what is on my list. I use this at the station, at the office, and sometimes at home. I get laughs about my list at the station, at the office, and sometimes at home. I find that I am more efficient and productive at the station, at the office, and sometimes, at home.

My habit for staying focused may not be for you. It doesn't have to be. We all, however, need some way to keep focused on our intended tasks. Completing tasks, completes objectives. Completing objectives, completes goals. And completing goals is how ordinary people have extraordinary impact.

 About the Author

 NICK BASKERVILLE Nick has had the honor of serving in the United States Air Force for 10 years, followed by 4 years in the United States Air Force Reserves. He attained the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6). Nick also has 18 years of fire service time, with 15 years of that being in a career department in Northern Virginia. Nick has had

the opportunity to hold positions in the Company Officer's section of the Virginia Fire Chief's Association (VFCA), The Virginia Fire Officer's Academy (VFOA) staff, and as one of the IABPFF representatives to the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance. Nick is one of the many trainers for Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) to offer awareness and prevention training about cancer in the fire service. Nick has the honor of being one of the many contributors for The Firehouse Tribune.

Nick is also a member of the public speaking organization Toastmasters. He holds an Advanced
Competent Bronze (ACB) certification. He also tells personal narrative stories that have been featured
on shows for The Moth, Better Said Than Done, and Storyfest Short Slam. Follow more about storytelling
and public speaking for purpose at Story Telling On Purpose (www.stop365.wordpress.com)

When It Rains...

It's just another day at work. More things to do than time in the day. I'm at the fire station, making my way up the stairs to fit in what I can. Up the stairs, I make my way down the walk way and take the second left. I open the office door just to drop off my coffee cup. Training is about to happen and I don’t want to be late. I don’t turn on the light, at first. But what is that sound? It reminds me of running water? That doesn’t make sense. There is no water in the office.

I turn on the light and oh my, what a sight!One of the ceiling tiles looks more like a cloud instead of a part of the ceiling. It was full of water and beginning to rain down on the entire office. The air condition system is located in the ceiling, just above the office. I have heard stories of how it leaked before. I now have my own story.

As a new officer, I'm still working through the gut reaction to be in the thick of the problem. To get directly involved on fixing the problem hands-on. On this day, however, I activate a skill that have cultivated for years.A skill perfect for this situation. That skill?Ignorance.I understand what to do with a busted hose line. I understand what to do for a spill for muriatic acid. I know nothing about what to do for a leaky ceiling. I knew enough to know, however, that there was a problem. Even officers know water is not supposed to come from the ceiling. Sizing up the situation, I knew I need more resources. Downstairsare 2-3 firefighters who would know exactly what to do. I went downstairs and hustled back with a strike team of people to handle with the problem.

What did I do? I took two steps back and supported the plumbing strike team while they worked. I handed them a wrench when asked. I held the ladder when needed. I called the maintenance person for the long-term fix. As things are windingdown, the Battalion Chief stopped by. Chief’s seem to either have a 6th sense or hidden camera that tell them when to stop by the station."Where's the guy in charge?"All fingers point to me in the corner coordinating with the HAVAC vendor on when they can fix the problem.

Sometimes being in charge means letting the right people use their skill. Especially when you don't have that skill. I have learned something long ago that I have just managed to put into words. I don't have to be the smartest person in the room in order to lead the room. Let the ordinary people have the extraordinary impact.

 About the Author

NICK BASKERVILLE has had the honor of serving in the United States Air Force for 10 years, followed by 4 years in the United States Air Force Reserves. He attained the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6). Nick also has 16 years of fire service time, with 13 years of that being in a career department in Northern Virginia. Nick has had the opportunity to hold positions in the Company Officer's section of the Virginia Fire Chief's Association (VFCA), The Virginia Fire Officer's Academy (VFOA) staff, and in the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF) as a chapter president, a Health and Wellness committee member, and one of the IABPFF representatives to the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance.